We are two weeks into the Guinness 6 Nations, the Northern Hemisphere’s premiere rugby event, and we are starting to see signs of what can be expected later in this World Cup year. But, before we get into a Springbok supporter’s opinion on what the ^N is bringing, let’s first start with the absolutely insane supporters from France, Wales, Scotland, and Italy. The 6N has always been about the fans as they travel from their home countries to bring their voices to their teams playing away, or pack their home grounds to add that extra player to their teams’ efforts.
And this year is no different.
The sound of the Italians as they pushed France, the sound of the French as they took on Ireland, the Scottish faithful (and hopeful) and roaring as they downed both England and Wakes – it is incredible! One Irish cabbie was quoted as saying that he had never, in his life, seen so many French people in Dublin.
You may notice that we haven’t included England in the above comment. Twickenham, long seen as a bastion of English rugby, seems to be the one stadium where the fans are very muted. After the Scotland game, the post-match interviews saw some scathing and disgusted fans talking about how the atmosphere at Twickers was absolutely disgusting. No singing or shouting or support from the England fans and some even being told to keep it quiet!
Maybe it’s got something to do with the recent alcohol regulations aimed at stopping hooliganism? But, if England really want to make an impact this year, they need those fans – and their voices – behind them.
The North means business
Two rounds into the 2023 Guinness 6 Nations and one thing has become abundantly clear; northern hemisphere rugby is no joke. Since the first ever Rugby World Cup of the professional era in 1987, only one northern hemisphere side has won the trophy. Martin Johnson’s England beat Australia in the 2003 final with a last-minute, weak-footed drop goal from arguably one of the greatest flyhalves the game has ever seen – Jonny Wilkinson. Before that, and since then, no northern hemisphere team has done the same. England and France have been runners-up three times each, but left with nothing but silver medals and teary eyes.
Every four years however, one or two northern hemisphere teams have great mid-year, Autumn and 6 Nations series and each time the northern tabloids get carried away with “this could be our year” narratives and every time they leave disappointed. Southern hemisphere fans, journalists and rugby players alike don’t often pay much attention to the chat – but that’s what makes 2023 different.
The resurgence of the north has been growing. Over the last 3 years, teams like Ireland and France have collected southern hemisphere scalps and made some big statements. The integration of the hemisphere’s domestic competitions has undoubtedly closed some gaps and made the world of rugby smaller and arguably easier to understand. The 6 Nations is often a chance for the south to sit back and study, and with our notebooks out we’re learning that there’s something a little scary about 2023’s edition of the tournament.
The Green Machine
Ireland is the number one team in the world right now, and usually I’d have an argument against them, but unfortunately I’m running out of excuses. Even though they came up second best to a formidable French unit in last year’s 6 Nations, the Irish are coming into 2023 super-hot. Last year they secured their first ever series win against the All Blacks and beat South Africa at the Aviva Stadium once again. Any ‘they’ll fizzle out’ ideas have been put to bed by an incredible start to their 6 Nations campaign. They absolutely battered Wales 34-10 in Cardiff in Round 1. Warren Gatland’s return to Wales started horribly as his team were outclassed in every aspect of the game. Two early tries from Doris and Ryan immediately put Wales under pressure and as soon as they started to gain some momentum, James Lowe latched onto a loose pass and ran clear of all red jersey’s to score Ireland’s third try in just 21 minutes. Ireland were up 27-7 at the half and the game looked beyond rescue already. The second half started well for Wales with Liam Williams crossing the line for Wales’s first and only try, but that was the only breach of Ireland’s world-class defence all game. Van der Flier got off to a flier and Hugo Keenan at fullback was simply superb. The bookmakers never really gave Wales a chance and the result wasn’t much of a surprise.
A week later marked Ireland’s first real test against last year’s Grand Slam champions, France. The number one and two ranked teams in the world were only separated by 6 points the last time they met, with France coming out 30-24 winners. This year, however, was a completely different story. Ireland looked even better than they did against Wales in Round 1. The first points went the way of the French after James Lowe’s clearance kick hit the spider cam, resulting in a scrum for the men in blue. After a strange early setback, Ireland responded well after Lowe’s kick in behind forced an attacking lineout and Ireland’s first real chance for points. Ireland started the game without four key players through injury. The first real test of their depth for over a year. Tadhg Furlong, Robbie Henshaw, Cian Healy and Jamison Gibson-Park were ruled out during the week and one more player was ruled out just before they named their team. Dan Sheehan dropped out and Rob Herring came in to start. After phases and phases of gritty French defence, the Irish finally found their breakthrough with a beautiful piece of interplay, sparked by a flyhalf-esque inside ball from tighthead Finlay Bealham to fullback Hugo Keenan. Keenan’s running line was sublime and his pace and power took him over the line for Ireland’s first five-pointer. Keenan is fast making a case for himself as the world’s best number 15 after a string of outstanding performances, and this clash further proved his talent.
After Bealham’s brilliance, Ramos converted another penalty to bring the tie back to 7-6. Then, the French did what the French do best. High risk, high reward rugby. Some interplay between Jelonch, Ntamack and Penaud resulted in the latter scoring an unreal try from inside the French 22. Penaud is the best in his position in the world right now and continues to impress every time he puts on the blue jersey. France had the lead, but not for much longer as Ringrose unleashed Lowe on the wing, and the lethal finisher dotted down acrobatically (and questionably) in the corner. After a lengthy TMO debate, Ireland were given the points and took the lead back. Ireland kept pushing for a bonus point before the break, but Ramos would get a penalty back and the teams would go into the half 22-16 to Ireland.
The second half was an even tighter affair than the first. Beirne and Sexton were side-lined after some big knocks and that brough backup pivot Ross Byrne into the game. He started by adding three points to Ireland’s tally after a phenomenal clearance kick from Hugo Keenan (who seems to do no wrong). Ramos’s trusty boot kept France in the game, bringing it back to just 6 points difference but, with 8 minutes to go and the game very much in the balance, Caelan Doris unleashed Gary Ringrose out wide with a beautiful pass over the top. Ringrose channelled O’Driscoll in a magnificent solo effort, beating Jalibert, Fickou and Taofifenua on his way to the line and thus sending the Aviva into raptures. Truly a test match for the ages that the Irish ended up winning 32-19.
The flower of Scotland has some thorns.
The top of the 6 Nations table sees Ireland level with the Scots who, after downing England and Wales respectively, are looking like a seriously good rugby side. Duhan vd Merwe scored one of the best tries I’ve ever seen against England and Finn Russell is running the Scottish backline with style and authority. Scotland have been putting their hand up more and more of late and have pulled off some outrageously good performances.
The word ‘mercurial’ gets thrown a lot when it comes to rugby players. Mercurial, according to the online dictionary we Googled, means “subject to sudden or unpredictable changes of mood or mind”. It also means “of or containing the element mercury” but we really don’t think that has anything to do with a Finn Russell’s career as one of the most unpredictable 10’s in the global game. ‘Unpredictable’ is actually a bit of a simplification when talking about the 30-year-old’s style and history. It’s well-known that Gregor Townsend gets a bit frustrated with the maverick fly half, and would probably bench him if he wasn’t one of the most dynamic playmakers in the world when he’s on song.
And on song he has been in the opening exchanges of the Guinness 6 Nations. Ridiculous steps, ludicrous off-loads, unbelievable cross kicks and kick passes. He is the maestro that is playing the opposition like a fiddle.
It helps that his pack, including stalwarts like WP Nel, Pierre Schoeman, David cherry, George Turner, Jamie Ritchie, Richie Gray, Johnnie Gray, and Matt and Zander Fagerson, are in a purple patch of form right now. They are disciplined, direct and dominant.
Bringing the flair to the team are the backs like Huw Jones (in a revitalised return to form), Sione Tuipulotu, Kyle Steyn, Duhan van der Merwe, and the ever-dependable Stuart Hogg.
As a South African rugby supporter it makes me both happy and a bit cross to see that four of the Scottish team actually hail from our sunny shores – WP Nel, Pierre Schoeman, Kyle Steyn, and Duhan are all homegrown products of Mzansi!
Are they good enough to foil an Irish Grand Slam? Probably not. But they’re certainly good enough to make it interesting. I’ll be betting on France to beat them at home next weekend, which will give Ireland a pretty clear run at winning the Grand Slam at home on the 18th of March.
A long road ahead
Wooden spoon merchants Italy put up a brave performance against France in week one, but got spanked by England on the weekend. It was a very one-sided affair (not helped by atrocious refereeing) but it was not unexpected.
Italy have some exciting players coming through and a chaotic gameplan that can really throw the opposition into a state of panic. Are they on the road to a surprising 6N or World Cup upset win – not even close. But with players like Ferrari, Bigi, Fischetti, Cannone, Allan, Garbisi, Menoncello, and Padovani, they are not the whipping boys they used to be. Although, it is two players who seem to have sparked this Italian renaissance: Sebastian Negri, the abrasive and hard-hitting back rower (his hit on Owen Farrell was a thing of BEAUTY!), and the elusive and exciting fullback, young Ange Capuozzo. We will be watching both these players very closely in the coming weeks.
The England/Italy game, while a bit of a thumping for the Azzurri, was more a failure to impress from England than a dominant display from the Red Roses. They are in trouble, and new coach Steve Borthwick is going to have to make some big calls if they want to be serious contenders come September and the Rugby World Cup. The axis of Marcus Smith at 10 and Farrell at 12 has not provided England with the dominance they were expecting and introducing powerful Bath centre Ollie Lawrence at 12 and putting Farrell at his preferred position of flyhalf seemed to do wonders for the England attack.
It’s a juicy few weeks ahead.
I suspect Ireland will give Italy 30+ in the next round and I think England, as mediocre as they are, should beat Wales in round 3. France up against Scotland is going to be a humdinger of a game that, right now, is too close to call. Although we suspect that France, after going down to Ireland, may have got a bit of a wake-up call and should just edge the proud Scots.
It's all to play for nonetheless and I can’t wait to see what happens.